RI, MA EHS Pest Control Blog

Cleveland Cavaliers guard Kyrie Irving still is freaking out over his weekend in Oklahoma City.

Waking up in the middle of the night Saturday feeling itchy, turning on a light and seeing a handful of bed bugs crawling on your hotel room pillow will drive most people a little crazy.

The three-time All-Star who grew up in East Orange, N.J., even was bitten in the head by the little critters, and the next day he feeling so sick that he sat out most of the Cavs' big road win Sunday afternoon over the Oklahoma City Thunder.

The Cavs originally made up a lie explaining Irving's absence.

"Our team said I was out with flu-like symptoms," Irving told reporters Monday night after Cavs' 96-88 home loss to the Detroit Pistons. "It was honestly from the bed bugs from the frickin' Hilton that we stayed at."

The Cavs, like most NBA visiting teams visiting Oklahoma City, stayed downtown at the Skirvin Hilton, a historic hotel that opened in 1911 and supposedly is haunted.

More than a full day later, Irving seemed angry sharing his ordeal publicly for the first time. At one point, he pointed out a bite mark on his forehead.

"Just imagine how freaked out you'd be if you saw friggin' five, big-ass bed bugs just sitting on your pillow," Irving said. "I woke up itching, and I'm just looking around, and I'm like, 'Are you serious right now?' It was 3 a.m., and I was so tired at that point. It was, whatever."

Irving decided to sleep on his hotel sofa rather than trying changing rooms.

"Waking up, my back was tight," he said. "It was a long night. I just wanted to get back home to Cleveland. ... I got three hours (sleep)."

Luckily, none of the others Cavs had been affected.

"We found it was an isolated case in the one room, and we're taking the necessary steps to remediate the bed bug problem," a hotel spokesperson told ESPN.com.

The problem affected Irving on Sunday, as he played just 9:16 of the 115-92 Cavs victory, making one of five shots.

"I didn't get any sleep," he said. "We came into the game, then I was freaked out, then I started feeling nauseous, so it was just a whole bunch of B.S., honestly."